Kamal Nath (born 18 November 1946) is an Indian politician and the current Union Cabinet Minister of Urban Development. He is a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Chhindwara constituency of Madhya Pradesh and is a member of the Indian National Congress (INC).

Early life

Born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He is an alumnus of The Doon School, and a graduate of St. Xavier’s College of the University of Calcutta.

Career

Political career

Mr. Kamal Nath was first elected to the 7th Lok Sabha in 1980. He was re-elected to the 8th Lok Sabha in 1985, the 9th Lok Sabha in 1989, and the 10th Lok Sabha in 1991.

He served as Union Minister of State for the Environment and Forests (Independent Charge) from 1991 to 1995, then as Union Minister of State for Textiles (Independent Charge) from 1995 to 1996. He was elected to the 12th Lok Sabha in 1998 and the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999. From 2001 to 2004, he was the General Secretary of the INC. He was re-elected to the 14th Lok Sabha in the 2004 elections and has served as Union Cabinet Minister of Commerce & Industry from 2004 to 2009. On May 16, 2009 - he again won the elections from his constituency for the 15th Lok Sabha and re entered the Cabinet, this time as Union Minster for Road Transport and Highways. He was shunted out of the Surface transport ministry to the Urban Development ministry in a Cabinet reshuffle.

Business career

He has stake in many industries and also operates a chain of colleges under brand name of IMT

Awards and recognition

Kamal Nath was named the FDI Personality of the Year 2007 by the FDI magazine and the Financial Times Business for his “active efforts to attract foreign businesses to India, boost exports, and promote trade and investment”.

Mr Kamal Nath.